President Donald Trump has set out how he believes Venezuela should be governed following the U.S. military operation that led to the capture of President Nicolás Maduro, saying Washington must first impose “law and order” and economic discipline before considering elections.
Speaking in an interview with the New York Post, Trump dismissed comparisons between the intervention in Venezuela and past US military campaigns in Iraq or Afghanistan, arguing the country had been driven to collapse by decades of socialist rule. He described Venezuela as “literally a third world country ready to fail” and said US involvement was about restoring basic governance and stability.
“We should run the country properly,” Trump said. “We should run the country with law and order. We should run the country where we can take advantage of the economics of what they have – which is valuable oil and valuable other things.”
As Washington outlined its intentions, Venezuela’s Supreme Court moved to appoint Vice President Delcy Rodríguez as interim president, citing the need to ensure continuity of the state and protect national sovereignty. Rodríguez confirmed she had spoken with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, but said Venezuela remained committed to dignity and independence, declaring the country would “never return to being the colony of another empire,” and that Venezuelans would “never return to being slaves.”
Trump responded with a warning, suggesting Rodríguez could face consequences similar to Maduro if she defied US demands. “If she doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro,” Trump said in a separate interview with The Atlantic.
The US president also indicated that holding new elections in Venezuela was not an immediate priority. He told reporters aboard Air Force One that Washington was “dealing with the people that just got sworn in,” adding pointedly: “Don’t ask me who’s in charge, because I’ll give you an answer, and it’ll be very controversial… It means we’re in charge.”
Trump declined to endorse any Venezuelan opposition figures, including Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado, despite her controversial public support for US military action.
Just grubby home invaders, imperialist thieves and kidnappers, pretending to be something more than they are….
More theiving from the globalists to make the poor even poorer. Idiot Trump is being exploited by the globalists